The rumors were correct. Wegmans Food Markets of Rochester, New York plans to build a store as large as 100,000 square feet on the south side of the N.C. 98 Bypass (Calvin Jones Highway) between the Corporate Chaplains of America property and the town’s second power substation.
The store will be part of a planned unit development on 77 acres owned by the Esley Forbes heirs, an irregular rectangle that straddles the bypass and will be bisected by the extension of Ligon Mill Road. The PUD plans are for four quadrants in that rectangle, Wegmans being the first on the west side south of the bypass.
The grocery store plans show a second connection to the bypass, a new street sweeping west and north around the store with what will probably be a right-in, right-out connection. Ligon Mill is planned to continue north to Durham Road or beyond in the future.
Initial plans show quadrant two on the east side beside the grocery store as residential. It is next to the streets and houses in the Reynolds Mill subdivision. On the north side of the bypass, quadrant three would also be residential, and quadrant four toward the west would be commercial with perhaps a hotel. The plans for the last three quadrants are not final, but Wegmans has signed a purchase agreement for the land and submitted a request for approval of the grocery store to the Wake Forest Planning Department.
“We look forward to the day when we can greet new customers and welcome back those who have shopped with us in other areas before,” Ralph Uttaro, Wegmans’ senior vice president of real estate, said. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to bring incredible customer service, restaurant-quality prepared foods, and consistent low prices to Wake Forest in the future.”
Glenn Day of Wake Forest shopped in two different Wegmans when he lived in New York state and shopped at a Wegmans in Wilkesboro, Pennsylvania when his family visited North Carolina. “There were many impressive features about Wegmans, but I think the best feature was the selection of fresh vegetables, fruits, breads, meats, poultry products, a SUPER large deli, pizza bar, Asian food bar, sandwich bar, in-store dining facilities, a bulk food section that was at least 40 feet by 50 feet with many selections to choose from AND an overhead railroad that was over the bulk food section. Wegmans also had seasonal furniture, a huge selection of domestic and imported beers (in New York wine is sold in liquor stores), and most all at affordable prices. Wegmans does carry its own brand of products, cereal, milk, cheeses, paper goods, most everything like Harris Teeter only more of it.”
A family owned company, Wegmans Food Markets earned the title of America’s Favorite Supermarket in a consumer study by Market Force Information earlier this year. It has 98 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts, and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016.
It will soon have stores in the Triangle. Wegmans is due to open its first North Carolina store in north Raleigh in 2019. Plans are also underway for a Wegmans in Chapel Hill and two stores in Cary.
Brendie Vega, assistant director of planning, said she anticipates the public hearing for the grocery store will be in December. The plans for the PUD were submitted on Sept. 4, 2018 by the applicant, Stiles Corporation of Charlotte; the developer, Wegmans Food Markets; and ColeJenest & Stone PA of Raleigh, the firm that drew up the plans. Vega said she anticipates there will be changes to the plan as the staff works through the request.
Vega sent along the application for the PUD, and one part caught the eye. “UDO Table 2.2.3 limits the maximum building height at 6 stories or 60 feet, whichever is less. Within Development Area 1 only, the applicant requests that this limit is increased to an 85-foot maximum height without the need for a Special Use Permit (SUP). This is due to an architectural feature (spire/clock tower) that is not intended for human occupancy and is consistent with the item described in UDO Sec. 4.5.3. (not limited to church spires, belfries, cupolas, domes, etc.).” Vega has not answered a request for information about this feature.
Vega said Stiles was “the applicant on the amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance to add a PUD District” which she has worked on for several months, with amendments that were approved by the planning and town boards to establish a PUD section in the UDO.
Established in 1951, Stiles is a full-service real estate development firm with a clear mission: Invest. Build. Manage. Stiles services include development, construction, tenant improvement, realty, property management, architecture, acquisitions and financing. The company is responsible for more than 48 million square feet of office, residential, industrial, retail and mixed-use projects throughout the southeastern U.S. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Stiles maintains regional offices in Miami, West Palm Beach, Naples/Fort Myers, and Orlando, Florida, as well as Charlotte, North Carolina.
Since opening its Charlotte office in 2012, Stiles has rapidly become one of the Carolinas’ most active and trusted developers of retail, office and multifamily. The company has completed four grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping centers in Charlotte, a 186-unit luxury apartment community in Raleigh and a Pillar award-winning luxury residential tower in Nashville, Tennessee. This is its first venture in Wake Forest.
2 Responses
I grew up in Western New York, have shopped at various Wegman’s stores in my life, and have always seen the company as a responsible neighbor and community member.
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